SBDC business forum: Multitasking saves time

How many times have you thought about how convenient it would be to have more time to do all the things that you need to do? Sometimes multitasking can help you do more with your valuable time.

Myriam Bouchard

How many times have you thought about how convenient it would be to have more time to do all the things that you need to do? Sometimes multitasking can help you do more with your valuable time.

Multitasking is the art of doing two simple tasks simultaneously. Time is a precious commodity, and how you use it depends on your ability to strategize, give priority to the important things and let go of the rest.

Sometimes, you absolutely need to do things that take time but require little of your attention. When this happens, see if you can join this task to another to help you save time. For example, if you use social networking to help market your business, whether it's updating your Facebook status with a new item on the menu or announcing an event, this is probably something you can do in the evenings while watching TV. You don't need to use your valuable daytime hours to do this.

Sometimes leaving a message is as productive as talking to someone — and sometimes it's more productive. Waiting until after hours to make certain calls can help you save valuable daytime hours. Sometimes, these calls can be made simultaneously as you do your online banking, or as you enter inventory in a database.

Again, the art of multitasking depends on prioritizing and giving your attention to the things that require more focus, and either delegating the easier tasks or seeing how these can be combined.

The use of headphones while speaking on the phone frees your hands to do other things. If you absolutely need to spend considerable time on the phone, consider investing in a good phone with a headphone set so you can answer these calls and do something else, whether it's straightening up inventory or cleaning the back room.

Stay organized. Knowing what's important and what's not helps you determine the tasks you can combine. Usually, two not-so-important tasks may be done simultaneously. Create a to-do list and see what absolutely needs to be done first, second, third, etc.

This will help you figure out the best way to find those tasks that don't require too much focus and that can be done together. Beware of procrastination. Pushing things on your to-do list to the next day makes it that much harder.

Let's admit it: We're all lazy when it comes to chores we don't like to do. So start with those tasks, and get them out of the way. You'll then be rewarded with the fun or more interesting tasks to do once the less-than-desirable ones are done, which is much better than the other way around.

Myriam Bouchard is a certified business adviser for the Mid-Hudson Small Business Development Center. SBDC columnists appear on alternating Mondays. The SBDC offers no-cost, one-to-one business counseling to new and existing businesses. For more information, call 339-0025, email sbdc@sunyulster.edu or go to http://mid-hudson.nyssbdc.org.

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